Pavel Tarasenko, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace:
As Russia continues to wage war against Ukraine, its international influence suffers new setbacks. A thaw in U.S.-Venezuela relations is posing the greatest test this century of Moscow’s friendship with Caracas. After years of imposing sanctions against Venezuela, Washington is dropping ultimatums in favor of overtures, turning Venezuela’s disputed leader Nicolas Maduro into an unexpected beneficiary of events in distant Eastern Europe.